BUREAU or BIOLOGICAL, SUR\'EY. 367 



creation of this reservation having developed, reexamination of the 

 l)roject indicates that the area may be materially reduced without 

 serious injury to the purpose for which it is intended. 



The unusual drought of 1919 was responsible for several fires, 

 particularly on the National Bison Range, in Wind Cave Park, and on 

 the Klamath Bird Reservation. Xo serious damage was done on any 

 of the big-game refuges, but on the Klamath Reservation the fires 

 burned over a considerable area of tule land before they were extin- 

 guished bv autumn rains. 



BIG-GAME RESERVATIONS. 



Winte?' Elh Refuge . Jaclson, Wt/o. — This reservation thoroughly 

 justified its existence this 3'ear in saving the southern Yellowstone 

 elk lierd from practical extermination by starvation. Throughout 

 the summer of 1919 a severe drought prevailed in the northern Rocky 

 Mountain States, which prevented the growth of forage on the range 

 and greatly reduced the output of hay. This was followed by an 

 almost unprecedentedly long and severe winter, beginning with fierce 

 snowstorms, which drove the elk out of the high mountains the last of 

 October, and continuing until the end of April. 



The hay crop for 1919 on the elk refuge, with hay held over from 

 the previous year, made a total of about 850 tons on hand at the 

 beginning of winter. The State game warden of Wyoming pro- 

 vided about 500 tons and a carload of cottonseed-oil cake. As it 

 became necessary to feed elk on the refuge much earlier than usual, 

 it was plain that unless more hay was provided the last months of 

 winter would see the animals perish by thousands. The Secretary 

 of Agriculture granted the Biological Survey authoritj'^ to expend 

 the sum of $45,000, if necessary-, in the purchase of hay to meet this 

 emergencj'. Owing to the urgent need of hay for stock, it was diffi- 

 cult to secure any for the elk, but early in January 573 tons were 

 purcliased, hauled 30 miles on sleds, and fed to the elk during the 

 later months of winter, at a total cost of $36,271.50. This provided 

 sufficient hay to feed until the end of the emergency, April 20, About 

 8,000 elk were reported as having been fed on the refuge and in the 

 valle}' below during a considerable period late in the season. The 

 availability of the necessary hay to feed the animals at this critical 

 time kept them off tlie winter range in that district, leaving the 

 scanty forage on it to maintain the elk which did not descend to the 

 feeding grounds. 



Early in the fall it was estimated that there were about 17,000 elk 

 in the southern herd, of which approximately 2,000 were killed by 

 hunters. About 15,000 entered the winter, and a careful estimate 

 gives 13,000 as the number of survivors which were doing well late 

 in May. The loss of approximately 2,000 during the winter of 1919- 

 20 was only a little above normal despite the severit}^ of the winter 

 and the scantiness of forage. 



In connection with the maintenance of the elk on the Winter Elk 

 Refuge it may be stated that tlie hay crop for 1919 amounted to only 

 314 tons, which was grown, cut, and stacked at an average cost of $4.09 

 a ton. This is a higher cost than the average in ordinary seasons, 

 owing to the scanty crop caused by the drought. Hay land added to 

 that on the refuge sufficient to raise tlie total vield in ordinarv seasons 



r* 



